17 october 2024 : The Indian Super League (ISL) faced interruptions last season due to national team commitments, but Season 11 is set to resume on Thursday after an international break and will proceed without further interruptions, continuing until March 12, 2025, following its restart on November 23 after the final FIFA window of the year. However, playoff dates have yet to be announced, and India’s campaign for the 2027 Asian Cup will resume on March 25, 2025, meaning later rounds of the ISL will occur after this date.
This situation poses challenges for the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in organizing its cup competition before April. Anilkumar Prabhakaran, the AIFF secretary-general, mentioned that an update on the cup’s schedule is expected soon.
Originally, the AIFF had planned a seven-month window for the cup competition from October 1 to May 15, 2025, with the Super Cup intended to run alongside the league season. However, since the 2024-25 I-League, which includes clubs participating in the cup, has yet to start—likely not before November 15—these plans have not materialized.
With the release of ISL fixtures for the remainder of the season, the possibility of concurrently hosting both the cup and league now seems unlikely. An AIFF official indicated that the earliest the cup could take place is April, and with ISL clubs slated to play at least 27 matches this season, the cup competition may not be held at all.
The delay in the cup competition has prompted some franchises to release foreign players. Nevertheless, the chance of securing a berth in the Asian Champions League 2 qualifiers for the cup’s winners has provided some motivation. However, there is still uncertainty regarding whether the Asian Football Confederation will grant India 1.5 berths, as opposed to the full berth awarded to the ISL league shield winners in the 2025-26 season.
The Super Cup, which was won by East Bengal in the 2023-24 season, took place during the Asian Cup finals and included 16 teams, four of which were from the I-League. The tournament, established in 2018 to include clubs from the I-League, faced difficulties in 2019 when several I-League clubs withdrew but resumed in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic.
